Purdue Hosts Indiana and Ohio State

Men's tennis looking ahead to the conference tournament.

April 9, 1998

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- It's an important weekend for the Purdue men's tennis team. The Boilermakers, who currently stand at 2-2 in the Big Ten (7-8 overall), are looking for two home wins over Indiana and Ohio State to push them over .500 in the conference heading down the homestretch. Purdue plays the Hoosiers on April 10 and the Buckeyes on April 11.

Purdue is coming off a 5-2 loss at sixth-ranked Illinois, making this weekend's matches much more important in determining the Boilers' Big Ten finish and seeding in the conference tournament to be held in Champaign on April 30-May 3.

"Indiana always gives us a tough match, and this year will be no exception," says Purdue coach Tim Madden. "Ohio State will be atest of our focus. Both matches will be strong indicators of what this team can do going down the last stretch of conference play."

The Boilermakers downed both teams last year on the road, knocking off Indiana 4-3 and Ohio State 6-1. The Hoosiers are 7-8 overall, 2-3 in the Big Ten this season. Purdue and Indiana share three common opponents: Ball State, Wisconsin and Northwestern. Both teams defeated the Cardinals and lost to the Wildcats, but Purdue defeated Wisconsin 4-3, while Indiana lost to the Badgers 5-2. The Hoosiers have lost three in a row.

Ohio State is down, owning a dual match record of 4-16. The Buckeyes are winless (0-7) in Big Ten play.

Both matches, which are set to begin at 1 p.m., are scheduled for the outdoors but will move inside to the Lafayette Sports Center in the case of inclement weather.